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Egypt, Sudan refuse Ethiopian proposal on filling Nile dam reservoir

Egypt and Sudan refused Ethiopia's proposal for a partial agreement to form a mechanism to exchange data about the measures to implement the next stage of filling the GERD reservoir.
Egyptian Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly (R) welcomes his Sudanese counterpart Abdalla Hamdok upon his arrival in Cairo, Egypt, March 11, 2021.

CAIRO — Following the failure of the Kinshasa talks — which according to Egyptian officials may have been the last chance to resolve the outstanding issues between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia regarding the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) — Ethiopian Water, Irrigation and Energy Minister Seleshi Bekele addressed April 10 Egypt and Sudan in two letters, calling on them to form a mechanism to exchange data about the measures to implement the next stage of filling the GERD reservoir in July and August.

As per Bekele’s letter, establishing a mechanism for data sharing will constitute a good opportunity to build trust among the three countries. His letter included a notification of holding some technical tests for the lower gates of the dam by releasing water amounting to up to 1 billion cubic meters to prepare for the second stage of filling.

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